Page 22 - RP-MAY-2021

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 18 NEWS IN FOCUS Dr Dimitri Kopanakis CEO, AUSTRALASIAN COLLEGE OF PHARMACY New programs and broader content diversity in existing ones are on the agenda of the new College CEO, he tells Retail Pharmacy. Dimitri, please tell us a little about yourself and your experience in the education sector. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy opportunities throughout my career that have aligned with my personal goals and values, and that have allowed me to develop entrepreneurial and leadership capabilities that I could apply to any role in any industry. While completing my undergrad, postgrad and doctorate studies in Australia, I started to see how I could carry the critical thinking and collaboration of academia across to corporate environments. Working overseas, I discovered just how differently various cultures manage workplace interactions, run a business, and connect with corporate partners. I learnt a lot about leading culturally diverse teams. Returning to Australia, I continued to transfer those skills to different roles where I could support the development of others in both private and not-for- profit sectors. I’ve worked along the education spectrum, from early childhood to primary schooling, secondary schooling and university. Most recently, I’ve worked for organisations focusing on vocational training. I’m very familiar with the rigour required to keep an educational institution relevant and industry-focused, and I know how valuable CPD programs are for disseminating evidence-based practices. Reflecting on your experience as a CEO in other industries, what do you think are the ‘keys to success’? I’ve learned that when you have good governance and systems in place, you work at keeping your staff and stakeholders engaged, and you take a collaborative approach to new opportunities, then it’s easier to bring and keep people on the journey with you as you create new and more value for the organisation. That includes the people in it and the community or market it serves. It’s also important to keep watch on the next horizon in terms of opportunity and potential disruption. That’s what keeps you agile and ready to respond to unexpected events at a local level or globally, like we’ve experienced over the past year. Frontline teams in community pharmacy have had to adapt quickly as both healthcare service providers and employer businesses. I’m looking forward to sharing over the coming months how the College continues to be innovative and agile to support members’ clinical and business development. You’ve been in the seat only for a short time. What’s your immediate view of the pharmacy sector? I couldn’t imagine a more necessary and relevant industry right now, because of what the world is facing. Being part of the solution, in terms of supporting service delivery, knowledge exchange and capability training, is very exciting. The College is a key enabler for that to happen, especially as we all continue to work through the next stages of recovery. I see the sector is willing to meet increasing demands on the types of services needed, not afraid of rolling up the proverbial shirt sleeves to support national strategies and drive regional responses. What are your short-term priorities for ACP? Helping members to work at their full scope of practice is certainly a priority. We’ll also be looking at how we can strengthen and grow our business units so they can respond quickly to changing demands in both clinical and vocational areas. We aim for this to be in the form of broadening the diversity of the content we offer in our programs and introducing new ones. We’ve also just rolled out a new ‘infection control skill set’ for pharmacy staff, for example, that’s fully funded for eligible Queensland participants. We’ve just refreshed our brand to align with our current direction, so we’ll be communicating with members about what that means for them. We’re also getting the word out about the new Covid-19 vaccine eligibility tool we’ve just launched with the Pharmacy Guild, so all Australians can have access to real-time information about when they may be able to access their Covid-19 vaccination (getmycovidvax.com.au). It really is a case of ‘watch this space!’ because we have more announcements coming up and more opportunities in the pipeline for members to boost their professional development across clinical, small business and corporate management streams. And of course, the Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference (APP) on the Gold Coast is high on the agenda, too. This is the first year the College is the official education sponsor of APP. I’m looking forward to meeting as many of our members and industry partners there as I can. RETAIL PHARMACY • MAY 2021